The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1887-11-16
THE NAVY DEPARTMENT..
What Has Boon Accomplished Under
Last Year,s Administra ton ..

What Has Boon Accomplished Under
Last Years Administration.
The year of naval administration, to
the review of which q large part of
Secretary Whitncy's report will be de-
voted, is in every way one of the most
important known to the Navy Depart
ment since the close of the civil war
1t has witnessed the completion of the
new steel cruisers Atlanta and Boston.
the fastest and most efficient vessels
now in commission. It includes the
practical completion of the Chicago,
whose trial trip will be made very
soon, aud which will doubtless be reg.
ularly in commission before the meet
ing Of Congress.
The year has also witnessed the be.
ginning of the construction of two
much faster cruisers. the Charleston
and Baltimore, and two gun-boats, all
OF which are now well advanced. It
has seen the award of contracts for
three additional unarmored cruisers,
two OF which are to go nineteen knots
an hour, and the third, the Newark,
eighteen knots, while all arc to be
powerfully armed; and simultaneously
with these contracts others were
awarded for two more gun-boats.
Still another form of construction be.
longing to this year is the dynamite
gun cruiser. This vessel, well adj
vanced at Philadelphia, is to reach the
high speed of twenty knots, and to
carry three guns, each capable of
throwing projcctilcs loaded with two
hundred pounds of dynamite to the
distance of at least mile. The Sccre-
tary has also invited proposals for a
torpedo-boat which is to have q speed
of twenty-five knots, premiums beng
given for exceeding this speed and
penalties exacted for falling short of it.
The review of the twelvemonth must
also take in the planning of the six
thousand-ton armored cruiser and the
battleship, which, in their de.
gree of imprcgnability combined
with battery power, will far exceed
any other vessel thus far projected for
The navy. One of them will be built at
Brooklyn and the other at Norfolk,
thus greatly increasing the activity of
The yards at those two points Besides
.hese new constructions, work has been
'esumed on the five iron double-turret
one of which has 5000 tons
displacement, and the other four 1887
Zach. Finally board has been devils
ng plans for floating batteries for
which the last Congress made an APP
and will probably be able
o report its conclusions within a few
weeks.
OF vessels thus added or to be added
o the navy, we find twenty-four or
twenty-five, including the Dolphin and
he Stilletto, should the latter be pur-
hased. In addition, the department
las been very busy during the last
ear in making contracts for steel,
10Th for armor and for guns. the guam
ity OF this material ordered from
american manufacturers being unpre-
edented. making has also gone
n apace, and the Washington navy
ard has been turned into an ordnance
actory. Proposals have been also in
tied and received for making steel
asst guns, in accordance with the act
I Congress. Still another important
'ork has been the assignment of con-
racts for building two timber dry
ocks, one to be placed at Norfolk and
ne other at Brooklyn.
Apart from these very large under
akings in the building of vessels and
uns and docks, Secretary Whitney
as put in operation during the year
lans of recognizing his department
n business principles, the chief of
-hich is the new system of purchasing
nd distributing supplies and keeping /,
counts, which went into effect July
Altogether, the year which the
ecretary will review has been busy ]
nd fruitful one for the department of
hich he has charge. - Washington
ettcr.
The money devil seems to be in